This invention relates generally to automated packaging machines, and, more particularly, this invention relates to improvements of a coordinated movement of the gripper and grid sections for automatically packaging of groupings of distinct product items.
The field of automated packaging addresses the process of combining multiple distinct product units into a bulk container, to aid in storage and transportation for distribution, in a variety of ways. One common automated packaging machine may be seen to divide up the product and drop it into a box or case. Another machine stages the product as it flows, and captures a grouping of the product to relocate that grouping of product into the packaging box, or other suitable item, such as a carton, container, case, tray, or shell. These types of packaging machines can be seen to consist of a product feed section, a carton feed section, a load section, and an operator interface section. A quantity of product suitable for the capacity of a particular carton may be enough product to fill the carton, or enough to fill multiple cartons, or enough to fill a carton with multiple cycles of the packaging machine.
The operator interface section controls the system and allows the operator to manage the operation of the machine. It typically consists of a series of pushbuttons activators, along with read-out lights or displays, which enable the operator to start, stop, or alter the performance of the machine, and locate/correct any fault conditions.
The product feed section of the packaging machine includes a conveyor belt that transfers the product generally from an up stream process such as filling or labeling to the load section of the machine. The conveyor belt urges the product into lanes that align the product into a plurality of rows, and into the load section.
While the feed section fills the load section with product, the case feed section delivers empty boxes, cartons, or cases to the lift section via a conveyor. U.S. Pat. No. 3,353,331 issued to Rowekamp on 21 Nov. 1967, U.S. Pat. No. 3,561,189 issued to Raudat on 9 Feb. 1971, U.S. Pat. No. 2,921,425 issued to Seval on 19 Jan. 1960, U.S. Pat. No. 3,589,094 issued to Pearson on 29 Jun. 1971, U.S. Pat. No. 3,744,213 issued to Pearson on 10 Jul. 1973, U.S. Pat. No. 3,832,826 issued to Ullman on 3 Sep. 1974, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,457,121 issued to Johnson and Raudat on 3 Jul. 1984, demonstrate that the prior art teaches a variety of ways to deliver the grouped individual products into the cartons, once they are in the load section. However, none of these systems achieve the simplicity and compact footprint of the current system.